Home is Where the Heart is
by forbesfever
Summary: Karen got kicked out of club alien after being unharnessed. She decides to find a new group, but will she ever escape her life from before the aliens altered her? * Rated T for language! ships undecided
1. Chapter 1

I don't own any of the characters, except for my own. This kinda is following a timeline if Karen was dropped when tom was. So mostly ignores the second half of season 2 on karens side. Everything else happened.

* * *

Karen's POV:

When I woke up in the forest for the second time, I was confused. When I had been sent to mess with the 2nd Mass, I had woken up knowing what I had to do. Now I felt nothing. I felt like I might have control over myself again.

I slowly sat up halfway and looked over my body. I was wearing the clothes I had been given from the overlords. Just thinking about the tall monsters made me shiver. I slowly remembered all I had done. I had hurt the only family I had left. And I knew, I could not go back. I would have to join a separate group; the 2nd Massachusetts would never trust me again. Honestly, I don't blame them.

I suddenly reached my hand back ad skimmed my hand over my neck. I was amazed at the revelation that my neck was completely smooth, like I had never been harnessed. I hoisted myself up onto my feet and felt a wave of dizziness settle in I leaned against a tree for a moment to pull it together. As soon as it passed, I started walking at a slow rate. I needed to head west, try to find and join a unit in that region. Far away from the Masons, and the Second Massachusetts.

* * *

1-and-a half weeks later:

I had been walking for a long time and my feet had been bothering me. Whenever I settled down to sleep I usually climb up into a tree to have a good vantage point over the surrounding area. I heard a sound and stopped dead in my tracks. It sounded like people talking, so I started to walk on the balls of my feet towards the noise. I hid behind a tree when I saw several men standing in a circle in a clearing. I took a deep breath and steeled myself for the following next moments.

"Please, don't shoot!" I yelled, while walking into the clearing with my hands above my head. The men – there were five of them- all spun around and pointed their guns at me.

"Who the hell are you?" asked a man who seemed like the leader.

"Karen. I was harnessed but they dropped me off the ship, and un-harnessed me," I replied, wanting to be upfront right away.

"Un-harnessed?" questioned another man, sounding confused.

"Yes sir," I replied while unconsciously shivering, thinking about the harnesses.

"Well Karen, I'm Captain Jones. This is Drew, Jesse, Ryan, and Rex," the leader said gesturing to himself then the four behind him.

"Nice to meet you," I responded meekly.

"Where were you before you were harnessed?" asked Captain Jones

"I was a Fighter and Scout with the second Massachusetts, sir," I said calmly. All five men looked seriously surprised. "What?" I asked self-consciously.

"It's just we've heard a lot about that unit. They're one of the best units out there right now" commented Rex.

"We definitely had a great leader," I responded while silently reminiscing. I noticed the five men exchanging glances. Eventually Drew spoke.

"Karen would you like to go back to the camp with us?" he asked with this weird look on his face.

I chuckled and replied "You have no idea how good a resistance camp sounds right now. I want to get these bastards. Being harnessed it's like you can't control anything. Like having someone holding onto your throat and swinging you around like a rag doll." I started tearing up and the five men looked alarmed. Captain Jones looked strangely happy

"I am glad to know you have the drive to be with us Karen," he stepped forward and stuck his hand out "Welcome to the Oklahoma Regiment."

* * *

When I entered their camp I was surprised. They were housed in a very large hotel and looked to have running electricity, probably a generator like Pope had had. As we entered the front doors of the hotel, almost everyone in the lobby turned their head toward us. I could hear the whispers begin as soon as I was spotted. I saw a large, buff Hispanic looking man head towards us. As soon as he reached the captain, he turned around for introductions.

"Alright everybody!" he shouted to get attention, "This is Karen, and she is going to be joining the OR."

The Hispanic man was the first to step forward with his hand out, "Hey, I'm Miguel. Ex-navy seal, and second in command. Nice to have some fresh meat to the cause." I slowly grasped his hand and gave it a small shake. He seemed to spur everyone out of their reverie, and they all came forward to introduce themselves. I guess I had been excepted into the Oklahoma Regiment..

Later that night as I lay in my cot, I let myself cry for the first time. I would never get to see Hal again. I would never get to ruffle Matts hair and then kiss his forehead when I was about to leave for a mission. I would never receive orders from Tom again. But this was better; Hal could forget about me and meet a nice girl. I had to except that I was not going back to the second mass. I feel like I may be able to at least put them on the back burner, as long as I was fighting. Fighting to finish off the things that had torn me from my family. And I would get revenge, no matter what stood in my way.

* * *

"Miggy!" I yelled as I sprung onto Miguel's back as he was walking to the command room. He softly grunted with the impact, but kept walking like this was a daily thing (which It pretty much was). Miguel had become my confidant in the OR. I had been here for almost three months now. Ad it finally felt like home. Captain Jones had let me start working missions about a month and a half back. It felt great to be on the front lines, killing skitters and destroying Mechs.

The aliens had recently started to close in on our location, so we had to leave our camp. This would be our last meeting before dispersing. I hopped off of Miguel as soon as we got to the doorway of command. I walked in and stood right beside Drew. He and I had become close since I had gotten here. I nudged his shoulder and he smirked at me.

"Alright," Captain began, "Today we're going to start heading east. I've been in contact with some people and they have room, if we can get there. So Miguel and I will be upfront in one bus with 30 civilians. The other bus will have 30 and the rest of the fighters in the last bus. Rex, Ryan and Jesse you all get in the truck with all our explosives. Kevin and Jared you'll be in the lead. Drew and Karen, you'll be flanking us. Alright! Everybody go gear up, were out of here in 1 hour!"

At the dismissal I headed back to my room, I had been sharing with a girl named Alyssa. She was with Jesse, and we had become very good friends. I pulled my pistol out from under my pillow and strapped it into my thigh holster. I grabbed my semi-automatic and slung it across my back, and pulled my duffel over my shoulder.

I began my journey to the medical bay to help out our resident doctor. Her name was Shannon and she reminded me of my mother, with her blond hair and selfless personality. I had definitely come to see her as a big sister, if not a second mother. I entered the medical bay to see it in chaos. There were supplies spilled out over every able and gurney with bags sitting on the floor all around. I could see Shannon throwing medication into a bag.

"Need some help 'Shan?" I asked trying to hide my chuckles at her disheveled appearance. She nodded quickly and went back to work. I threw my duffel and semi onto a table and started packing up all the cleansing products into one bag. I finished that bag and moved onto pacing up medical instruments, and it went on like this until Miguel cam to get us to load up. I carried three bags with Shannon and Miguel lugging four. We loaded them onto the first bus where the captain would be. After the civilians were loaded up, Miguel came to give me some rules. He had come to know about my rule breaking ways through experience. After my lecture I got onto my bike, and gave Drew a sidelong glance.

We were leaving our home, our safe fortress. And for the next few weeks, we would be going in blind. I never have enjoyed not being able to see.

* * *

The last few days had been strange, we had been hitting colder weather and it was kind of nice. By this time, Jones still hadn't told us what resistance group we were staying with. But he had told us we would be there soon. Surprisingly we hadn't hit and resistance from the aliens to get to our destination. Drew and I had switched up with Jared and Kevin, the two other bikers, so we were in the lead. Captain honked his bus horn at us and we slowed to a stop. Captain came in between Drew and I to give us final directions.

"In about a mile there is going to be a hospital, that I where are friends are located. Okay?" he explained. Drew and I nodded our heads and started our bikes again. We started off at a slow pace and soon enough we came up on the hospital. We slowed to another stop due to the large group in front of us, congregated behind and older gruff looking man. Captain exited the bus and approached the man. You could hear a small conversation that soon turned heated over somebody, I could tell with all the pointing. Then all of a sudden there was a loud commotion from the opposing side of our line.

"What the Fuck!" shouted a boys voice. I located the voice and what I saw made my knees buckle. There standing with his father and two brothers, was Hal Mason. Our 'friends' were the 2nd Massachusetts.


	2. Confrontations

I don't own any of the characters other than my OC's!

Karen's POV:

As soon as I realized we were going to be teaming with the second Massachusetts I knew I was screwed. These people hated me and now I'm coming into their camp? Shit was about to hit the fan. I could see the group behind Hal bristle at his outburst. Tom put his hand on Hal's shoulder to calm him; I assume he hasn't seen me yet. Hal jerked his head in my direction and both Tom and Ben looked my way. Tom's eyes widened in disbelief at my presence and I looked down. I couldn't handle how much the overlords had made me hurt these people.

To distract myself I focused on Cpt. Joes and Weaver to see Weaver staring me down. Jones looked relieved, so something good had to have happened. Weaver started to make his way towards me and I felt drew nudge me to meet him halfway. I felt like I was walking to my execution when I met him head on with Jones to the side mediating I assumed.

"Listen here girlie," he began with an angry face, "the only way you can stay is if you let Ben listen for the skitter static In your head, checks you out, and you stay in the Psych ward for 10 days. No incident and we'll let you back out into the field. Agreed?"

"That's more than I could've hoped sir," I replied with stiff posture, trying to be respectful.

"Good," he replied, then shouted, "Ben! Come here."

The middle Mason left the blob of people, heading for Weaver. I noticed he had grown and had at least 3 inches on me. He also looked less troubled then when I had last seen him. He eyed me warily, and I just directed my eyes to the floor.

"Sir?" he questioned Weaver when he reached us.

"I want you to listen to hear, see if she is still connected to the aliens," Weaver directed. Ben nodded and stared at me and locked his eyes with mine. In a few seconds he shook his head and turned to Weaver.

"There's no way the aliens could still have control," Ben said, giving Weaver his answer. Weaver nodded thoughtfully and turned to the crowd again.

"Tom!" he shouted. Tom walked over and Weaver told him, "I want you to take this one to and tell Doc to run every test she can think of," Weaver finished with a nod. Tom nodded and grabbed my arm lightly to lead me in to the hospital.

I finally got the courage to speak after we passed the front doors " how have you been?" I questioned

He glanced at me from the corner of his eye and replied "its, been rough. We lost Jimmy, Mike and a whole bunch of good men." My eyes started to water at the news of Jimmy.

"Tom, I know you've heard this from crazy me. But you don't know how sorry I am. As soon as I knew they were coming after you I started fighting them. But I couldn't break their control. Every time I tried, they would torture me. And then as soon as you were gone, they drove away and un-harnessed me. That was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life," by this point we had stopped in the middle of a hallway. I was crying and Tom was staring at me, and I couldn't read his face. "I walked for days, trying to get to somewhere that I could fight the evil bastards. And I found the Oklahoma. If I had known we were coming here for help, I would have left. Gone farther west, I don't want to cause any trouble. First person who asks, I'm gone."

"Karen, I'm convinced It's you. You have to convince others. But I know your back. I've missed you, we needed you these last couple of months," he then hugged me and we continued to see . When Dr. Glass turned and saw me she dropped the beaker she had been holding and covered her mouth.

"Hey Doc," I greeted with a small smile. She rushed forward and enveloped me in a bear hug. I breathed in her woodsy scent which was suspiciously mixed with Tom's musky scent. She pulled back and stared me down, then turned to Tom.

"What am I doing" she questioned

"Every test you can think of to prove she's the real Karen," Tom replied.

"Well," she began, "let's get started!"

As soon as Doc did her tests, Tom took me to the psych ward I was sentenced to with a rotating guard. Dai was starting and it was good to see him. I laid on my bed until Miguel burst through the doors.

"You okay?" he questioned. I nodded with a small smile. Miguel was like my dad, he was very overprotective and it was a nice feeling.

"I'm fine Miggy! 10 days and then I'm free. Don't you worry about little ol' me!" I said with a slight sing song. We talked for a little bit before he had to leave. Then it was just me and Dai, who was looking at me weirdly.

"Spit it out Dai," I said with a teasing tone. He looked surprised and faintly blushed

"It's strange, you have changed. You seem more relaxed, the OR did good for you," he said with a scrunched up face. I smiled at him and just rested my head on the wall.

A few hours later the watch rotated, Dai switched with a man I didn't recognize. I slowly fell asleep and dreamed about my past. I dreamed about Hal and I, about Matt, and his innocent personality, Anne and her loving personality. I realized I had missed these people more than I had admitted to myself. I was suddenly jolted awake by a door slamming. I lifted my head to see that Ben had switched with the unknown man.

"Were you serious?" I asked him. He gave me a questioning look and I cleared up my question. "Is there no way for them to control me again?" he nodded with a smile and I started laughing to cover up my sobs of relief. Ben gave me the Decency to turn away and act like he wasn't hearing anything. I was free from the torments that had once obscured my mind.

The next morning came the confrontation I had been hoping to delay. Hal was sitting in a chair with his feet up staring at me. I tried to ignore them but I felt his eyes glaring holes into my skull.

"Go ahead Hal. Explode, ask questions, just say what you want or go switch with another guard," I said without opening my eyes. I heard him shift and footsteps soon followed.

"I don't know whether to trust you this time. I did last time and you manipulated me," he said in that voice of his.

"Do you know how bad I felt after that? I was not in control. I was being used as a vessel to do what the aliens didn't want to! I had no say in what was going on. I fought them, they tortured me. And then I got lucky and they kicked me off their ship after unharnessing me," I yelled at him with tears in my eyes. "You think I would want to hurt the only family I have left? I loved you guys Hal. With everything I had. And the aliens took that away."


	3. and so it begins

I only own my OC's!

Karens POV:

After I exploded at Hal he left, to switch with somebody I assume. The next guard gave me a little dose of surprise, it was Maggie. She still looked gruff, but she looked happy. She came in and sat down on the little chair and stayed silent for a while. Soon enough I couldn't stand the silence.

"I'm sorry," I began and she snapped her head up to look at me "For everything they made me say when I came the first time. I know how hard it had to be, stuck with those men. When I was younger my mom had a lot of men around. And most of them were really grabby. So I know how you feel." I had never really talked about my past with anybody, except for Miguel. I could see the sympathy in her eyes and I didn't like it. "I didn't tell you that for sympathy. What I'm saying is those experiences, they make us stronger women. Who know how to kick alien and human ass," I ended with a little smirk that she matched.

After my little heart to heart with Maggie we made small talk until she switched out with another man I didn't know. He brought in a tray of food, with what looked like soup and bread. For the next few hours I sat on my bed and read a book silently. After the sun had set I heard a loud commotion outside, I ran to the window and saw a large group of Mechs and Skitters. I went t the bars that separated me from the sleeping guard. "Wake up!" I yelled while rattling the bar. He started to stir and I continued "There are Mechs and Skitters outside!" At those words he jumped up and ran out of the door. I went back to the window and saw the OR and the second mass working together to fight, which gave me a proud feeling.

Soon enough the aliens had retreated (what was left of them) and I heard feet pounding all through the hospital. Tom ran through the door to my room. "We have to leave," he said while rushing to grab the key to my door. "That was a scouting group, the airships will be here soon." As soon as he opened my door I ran through and followed him to the armory. I was really surprised when Weaver handed me a semi-automatic.

"This is your last test," he said. "You make it to our next camp with no incident your free."

I was actually very nervous for this mission. This would make or break my future with the second mass. I casually drifted to Captain Jones' and Miguel's side, my usual fighting position. We ran outside and loaded ourselves into the back of a truck. Dai was driving with Weaver in the passenger seat, Hal and Maggie were on bikes behind us. Following us were 5 buses with the rest of the civilians. The remaining fighters were in front of us and behind the buses.

Weaver had never actually given us a definitive answer of where we were going other than we had to go south. After about 3 hours we set up camp, I shared a tent with Maggie, Lourdes and another girl I didn't know. When the other 3 were asleep I got up and walked to the trucks and climbed in the bed of one and looked at the stars. Eventually I heard soft footsteps and saw Hal appear by the bed. "Hi," I said meekly. I was still weary of my ex-boyfriend. He hopped into the bed and gazed with me. Eventually I decided to break the ice with a frequently thought of question. "How's Maggie?" I asked in a teasing tone while I nudged his shoulder. He grinned and replied "having the hots for ben." My mouth dropped open in surprise. Maggie and Ben? That was very weird thought. I then laughed, Hal had actually not got the girl and Ben had. I high school it was the complete opposite.

He eventually laughed with me. I got tired after a while of silence and curled up with my back to Hal. "Night Hal," I murmured. Maybe tomorrow would be change. Change would be welcomed right about now.

A/N: I was sick today, so sorry that its short. And I have decided for this to be a Maggie/Ben and Karen/Hal. Switch it up a bit. But reviews would be welcomed! Have a good week!


	4. Love never Leaves

Karens POV:

When I woke up I was still in the truck bed, but I had blanket thrown over me and Hal was gone. I sat up and stretched, kind of like a cat. I hopped out of the bed and went to see if I could find Miguel or Jones. While I was walking I saw Maggie and Ben holding hands. That sure would take some getting used to. I smiled at the as I walked by, and Maggie beamed, which was weird too. I eventually bumped into Jones, and we talked for a bit.

After leaving him I went searching for Miguel and soon found him talking to a pretty woman from the second mass. He saw me out of the corner of his eye but I just winked and kept walking. I eventually found myself sitting in a tent with Shannon and Anne, them teaching me some confusing medical things. Tom entered the tent sometime later so Shannon and I left him and Anne alone. We giggled quietly thinking about Tom and Anne as a couple.

I caught Shannon looking at a handsome looking man from the second mass and I nudged her over. She gave me a nervous smile and walked towards the man. I turned to keep walking an jumped when little Matt latched onto my legs.

"Karen!" Matt said in the cutes little voice.

"Hi Matty!" I said, picking him up. He looped his arms around my neck and squeezed.

"I missed you!" he exclaimed and I got a fuzzy feeling inside. We talked for a while until Ben came and stole him for a nap. After they left I went to my tent and sat on my bed. I was surprised when a couple minutes later Hal came barging in. He looked almost nervous.

"You and I, we need to talk," he began. And I knew exactly what was coming. So I nodded and scooted over so he could sit on the bed. "Before you left, we had something. And I don't know about you, but I still have feelings for you. And I really would like to act on them if they're returned." I smiled softly and nodded at him and he let out a huge sigh. I leaned my head on his shoulder and we just sat there. And I finally felt like I was truly at home.

* * *

When Miguel found out about Hal and I he too him to a dark corner and proceeded to threaten him. That's Miguel for ya. I decided I would just go walk around. I hadn't been alone for a while and I was a bit overwhelmed. I walked through a small grouping of trees and found a clearing. I decided to sit against a tree to just relax. About 10 minutes later I heard some commotion. I walked back towards camp and saw Tom at a standoff with Pope. I hadn't seen him since I go here, which I found really strange. I walked and stood beside Hal. Pope saw me and his mouth started gaping like a fish. I smirked at him and winked which had him almost falling over. He turned back to Tom and began arguing with him again. I eventually got bored and grabbed Hals hand and tugged him back to the clearing I had been in. He sat against a tree, and I sat in between his legs with my back to his chest. I had missed this. I grabbed his hand and intertwined our felt right, like we had never been apart and I smiled a that feeling.

* * *

A/N: sorry for not updating!ive been sick and have had exams. i dont know where i want this story to go. so give me some suggestions! have a good week!


	5. A Sense of Forewarning

Karens POV :

It was strange, I had been away from the second Mass. For a long time, but it was easy to settle back into their routine. We would wake up early in the morning, then eat a nutritious breakfast of oatmeal and some bread if we were lucky. Next we would scout or clean, basically whatever was needed that day. Then everybody would gather for lunch and go back to whatever they had been doing. Last we would eat dinner and have a bit of free time before bed.

Everything had been fairly quiet, and that concerned a lot of us. There was a sense of forewarning in the air, and all of the fighters were antsy. It was never good to have to much down time in a war. In the meanwhile Hal and I had been taking it slow, getting to know each other again. We would usually take long walks around camp after dinner, just basking in each others presence. We were happy. But that didn't last to long.

* * *

The day had started out normal, but then we had noticed the skitters and mechs were more active than usual. Around lunchtime, we found out why. Hal and I had just sat down with Tom, Anne, Ben, Matt and Shannon when the chaos started. Maggie had been out scouting earlier with Weaver so she was away from the camp and was due back after dinner. So when she and Weaver came squealing in on their bikes, we all felt something was happening.

Maggie ran up to us panting and Ben met her there. He grabbed her face and softly spoke to her, trying to calm her. "Maggie? Whats going on?" he said worriedly.

"Airships," she replied " dozens of them, headed here." and that was all it took for me to start yelling.

"Pack up camp! They found us, were leaving in 5!" Before I even finished everybody started running around. I rushed to my tent with Maggie and grabbed my duffel that was always packed. I grabbed my weapons and ran out and met Hal and Tom at Jones' tent. I ran in and saw him packing up maps.

"What do we do?" I asked hurriedly.

"I want all of the civilians on buses and out of here ASAP. Fighters will go after on bikes and trucks" he replied.

"OK, what should we do?" I asked motioning to Hal and myself, knowing Tom would be dealing with the civilians.

"Go and load up all of the weapons in the armory tent," he replied tensely. I nodded and grabbed Hals hand and pulled him with me at a run to the armory tent. Once we stepped in we grabbed the duffels sitting round and started throwing in weapons. We were almost halfway done when Miguel entered the tent and began to help. Once we finished we each grabbed some bags and carried them out to a large truck we had acquired. I began to walk back to the armory with Hal and Miguel when Tom grabbed my arm and pulled me aside.

"Jones and Weaver want some people to stay here and see what they are coming to do. Weaver specifically asked for you," he told me in a resentful tone. I could tell from his facial expressions that he wasn't very happy.

"okay, ill see you lat-" I began only for Tom to interrupt

"Karen, this is a suicide mission in my opinion. If I were you I would be extremely careful. This is going to be tough. Just, be prepared?" he said with his eyes glimmering. I smiled softly and gathered him in a small hug.

"Now, Tom. When have I ever been know to die on a mission that is a bit crazy?" I asked sassily. He responded only with a small smile and walked away.

I may have sounded confident to Tom, but internally I was terrified. I decided to go see Hal and tell him I had to stay. I found him in the Mason tent alone. I cleared my throat at the flaps to alert him of my presence. He turned to me and gathered me in a hug as soon as he saw my face. As soon as I had informed him of my mission, he looked furious. "That's a suicide mission!" he yelled. I shushed him before he began to yell again.

"Its a simple scouting mission Hal," I assured with a smile. "and plus, it wont be just me, ill be with others." I said with a smile. He nodded solemnly and pulled me in for another hug while kissing my head.

* * *

It had taken a while to get everyone out, about 20 minutes. Staying behind would be Anthony, Tom, Maggie, Dai , Miguel and I. We paired off and went to scatter ourselves where we could not be seen but we could see the camp. We waited for about 15 minutes until we heard the mechs and skitters. They slowly creeped in and began to snoop around. I noticed that a lot of skitters headed straight for the armory.

So thats what they came for, our weapons. How interesting. After we had seen enough we all began to sneak to our rendezvous point. As Maggie and I began to walk I heard a large commotion behind us and heard a shot fired and quickly turned. I felt a impact to my abdomen. I slowly looked down and saw red beginning to coat my shirt. I looked up to see the whole group running to me. Tom got there In time to catch me as I pitched forward. I lowly whispered " Uh-Oh."


End file.
